How You Can Ace your PWC, KPMG, E&Y and Deloitte Interview By Knowing These 10 Characteristics

Anyone that has an interview with PWC, KPMG, Deloitte, and/or Ernst & Young should look into the core characteristics. This is the all important “what are HR Managers are BIG 4 accounting firms looking for when they interview someone”. Accounting Interview Domination‘s Aadesh Yardgur goes into detail about answering this question because HR managers themselves just say that they are looking for a “well rounded” individual but what does that exactly mean? well watch this video and find out.

Transcribed Video Begins Here: Hi everyone, this is Aadesh back with another video. If you are watching this than you are a part of the Accounting Interview Domination course that Robert and I have created.

I also want to take this moment to congratulate you on being a step ahead of all the other candidates who are probably sitting at home confused, and surfing the internet for information that essentially may or may not be relevant to a BIG4 Accounting Firm interview.

Right now you are ahead and you have an advantage so don’t give up your lead.

Last year I was in your shoes, and the second I found out that I had an interview with Deloitte. I started gearing up for a battle. A battle to acquire as much information so that I can do well on my interview.

I absolutely had to get this job offer, I had spent countless hours studying for so many courses, going the extra mile because I knew I had to keep my grades at a decent level. I had worked so hard to get to this point and now that I finally had an interview with a BIG4 firm, I did not want to mess it up.

The first thing I did was go on the internet and started searching as you are probably doing right now. I came across a lot of information, too much information in fact and I did not know what to believe and what not to believe. Which interview questions to practice and which interview questions not to practice.

I was lost, confused, over whelmed and honestly scared that I will screw up the most important interview of my life.

This is when I came across a recurring theme of answers when it came to the question “what are big4 firms looking for in a candidate?” the answer was always a “well rounded” person.

what exactly does that mean? Well according to Samantha Walton from Deloitte, a “well-rounded” person is someone that “can actively demonstrate that they can balance academic record with extracurricular activities, sports , charity work and hopefully some work experience”.

However, being on the inside of an accounting firm I can tell you that 99% of candidates that we interview are “well-rounded”, if you think about it being “well-rounded” is fairly easy to do…have some activities you are interested in, have decent marks in school, have a part time job and help out at a soup kitchen once in a while” and bam you are well rounded. Does that mean you will be hired at your interview with a BIG4 Firm – if that’s all you bring to the table, than probably not.

So how do the HR managers at BIG4 firms differentiate who to hire when they are faced with 10 astounding well-rounded candidates. I mean there has to be a point of differentiation. There are 10 Secret Characteristics that BIG4 firms are looking for while interviewing a candidate.

These are the secret characteristics that I am about to reveal to you and if you demonstrate these along with other core competencies, actual BIG4 interview questions & answers and other tips outlined in the book Accounting Interview Domination than you are well on your way to receive a job offer with a BIG4 Firm.

The First is Work Orientation and Stamina:

BIG 4 accounting firms are like pyramids. They have a ton of employees at the bottom who are performing the grunt work, analysis and completing working papers according to the direction of senior managers. This is where you are going to start, you will find yourself working full days, especially during the January to April months.

Working long hours, and being productive is tough and it is certainly not for everyone.

Therefore you have to show that you can handle the mental intensity and hard work that is required to get the job done. More importantly in your answers indicate the high temp and speed at which you work and your capacity for endurance. Show that you invest the time and energy necessary to get the job done right the first time.

Take a look at page 20 in the accounting interview domination book where I provide an excellent sample answer you can use in your interview.

The Second is Courage and Persuasion:

This is your ability to get people on your side when you face resistance. When you walk into an audit you are essentially walking into an organization that is already seeing you as someone who is not on their side. This is fair, after all you are there to determine if management has made any errors in their accounting policies, estimations and anything to do with their financial statements.

Essentially if you find something you could make management look bad. However, to a certain degree you need managements help to perform your audit. This tension in roles can cause animosity, and uncooperativeness if you don’t have the ability to move people towards a commitment to work with you rather than work against you.

here are excellent answers that I have outlined on pages 17,18 and 19  in the book Accounting Interview Domination that will help you demonstrate this in your interview.

Visit: www.AccountingInterviewDomination.com for the rest

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